UK doctors are trialling a blood test in Southampton to detect early signs of pancreatic cancer.
The new genomic test analyses blood samples for markers of the deadly disease, which often presents non-specific symptoms and can be fatal within months.
The test is being trialled on patients who have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes – a known risk factor for pancreatic cancer.
Data indicates the Avantect test is 68 per cent accurate in identifying early-stage pancreatic cancer, which claims almost 10,000 lives annually in the UK.
The trial has been initiated at the Cancer Research UK Southampton Clinical Trials Unit.
Zaed Hamady, consultant surgeon and pancreatic researcher at the University of Southampton, is leading the study.
He said: "There is currently no targeted early detection or surveillance test for the disease, meaning patients are often diagnosed late when they become really unwell.
"If we can develop approaches to detect the cancer sooner, then there are more options we may consider to treat the disease, and patients will have a much better chance of long-term survival."
The test has been validated by biotechnology company ClearNote Health on patients at high risk of developing pancreatic cancer, such as those aged 50 and over, newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and those with a genetic predisposition or family history of pancreatic cancer.
Sean Cleghorn's wife, Allison, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December 2020 and died four weeks later, aged 54.
Mr Cleghorn, a father of three from Kingsclere in Hampshire, said: "Perhaps if she had been diagnosed sooner with a test like the one that's currently being trialled, we may have had time to make more memories."
Around 10,500 people in the UK are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer every year, with only one in 20 surviving the disease for 10 years or more.
Dr Chris Macdonald, head of research at Pancreatic Cancer UK, said: "Early findings from these tests are very promising, but more research is needed to ensure that they are as accurate as possible before they will be available in the GP surgery."
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